Stitches
by ThatOneAmateurWriter
Summary: Everyone has demons, and everyone has their way of coping, some stay quiet while others lash out. Hatred and suffering are a powerful duo. What happens when two wolves who battle these demons in different ways are assigned to work together for a project? Can they heal each other? Or will they be trapped with their demons? Enter Stitches
1. Chapter 1

Jasper University, a place that was built only eight years ago, already had a big reputation. Already known as the 'City School' since the campus was like a mini city. It was also known as the safest school in the world.

Of course, it was safe, its Canada.

The place was opened up by businessman Winston Wilson, who owned one of the largest companies known to wolf, Wilson Enterprises. The college was rumored to be built for his two daughters, so they could learn safe and feel free to do as they please at the same time. That was the rumor anyway.

In the campus was (as known to the public) Princess Kate. Why the nickname princess? Well, she was like royalty to the other students, unreachable. She belongs to the "royal" group. The group consisted of her, her sister Lily, Jasmine, Gloria, and Diana.

Why no boys? Simple, Kate hated boys. What was the reason? That was unknown. Though she made it clear that all boys were disgusting. They were vile, heartless, and evil. She made it abundantly clear whenever she lashed out when a boy even said "Hi" to her.

After she lashed the prince of the school, Hutch, who had not been paying attention to where he was going, he didn't bump into her but nearly did. Other males knew that it was best to stay as far away from her as possible.

Also on campus was the quietest kid in school. Sure he's talked, when absolutely necessary. Friends? Just 3 nerds. And apparently, they've known each other since they could speak. Micheal (Mooch) Sanders studying the culinary arts, Samuel (Salty) Meyers studying in technology, and Sean (Shakey) Lyles studying in law enforcement. As for the quiet kid, good old business. Though he also studies technology, music, and art.

"Yo, you guys ready for the new semester?"

The three looked at Salty. Shakey and Mooch groaned. Humphrey on the other hand just shrugged and looked ahead. Where was he looking? Nowhere, just stuck in his head.

"Humphrey, you really need to open up man. This ain't healthy," Shakey sighed. "It's been three years, nearly four! We know what you went through must hurt but he's gone now. He won't be able to hurt you anymore. You need to move on. What happened to the kid everyone loved in high school?"

The answer was a sigh followed by a shrug. He knew Shakey was right, but it was a lot harder than it sounded. He couldn't just 'move on'. They couldn't even begin to understand what he went through. His friends grew up with two loving parents and the worst they got was a few bullies in high school. Don't get twisted that sucks but, compared to sixteen years of torture? It's pretty obvious what was worse.

Another sigh escaped him as he opened his mouth to speak, to only shut it. What could he even say? 'Hey, guys stop worrying I'm fine!' They knew each other like the back of their paws. No way he'd get away with that. "Classes are about to start so see ya guys, and Humphrey, be safe. Talk to us if you're upset," Mooch interrupted his thoughts waving his buds a goodbye.

"See ya, let's meet for lunch okay?" Salty said running off.

"Okay!" Mooch and Shakey replied running to there classes. Humphrey nodded and sighed again.

A new semester. This time though he was switched to the honor roll so, new classes and classmates. Great...

He didn't mind, it wasn't like he was gonna talk to them anyway. They probably had their friend groups made already.

He walked trying to find class 106. His teacher name was apparently Mrs. Spencer. Who was known as one of the most fun teachers on campus. He walked in and thankfully he saw a seat open, the class was filled except for a few seats in the back. One with complete isolation, perfect.

Just as he was going to sit someone called out, "You must be the new student, up here so you can introduce yourself," Snapping to the direction of the voice he was greeted to a petite white wolf smiling. She was wearing the cliche formal attire of a business lady, the coat and skirt. She had just a little bit of make-up on.

Nodding he walked to the front of the class. He didn't mind the students. All of them had a reputation that he knew about. Of course in the front row with a couple of her friends was Kate Wilson, the princess of the University. "Hi I'm Humphrey DaSilva nice to meet you," he said quietly, barely even heard by a few students. Quickly he looked at the professor. She didn't really react or say anything so he just walked to the seat he had been eyeing and sat down.

"Okay... So anyway welcome back everyone. I hope you're break was fun! For this semester I wanted to start with a partner project!" Her enthusiasm was met with groans. Although some students eye'd each other. Forming their groups. "Don't bother picking your partner! Since I will be doing the honors. Seeing how the last project went..." Groans again filled the room. "Oh hush, it's not as bad as you make it. This project will last the semester! The project is to research a current business, I want details to the bare bone. Products, employees, places of business, salaries, and the whole nine yards. Is that clear?"

The response was a few nods, some more groans, and a few students actually replying with a "Yes ma'am" or something along those lines.

"Good so the partners will be..." at that point he zoned out, not caring until he heard his name. He looked around the room. A few posters you'd expect to see. Like the 'study hard!' or 'you can achieve' but there were some others. She had an AC/DC poster and others. The board had the date, her name, and the task today, which was just blank. A few kids were talking, others were doing some random acts of frustration. Like tapping their feet on the floor, or groaning. Suddenly he snapped back to reality. "Kate you'll be paired with the new kid! Alright take your seats,"

As soon she mentioned his presence a bunch of students grew mortified. So did he. She was gonna kill him! He started to sweat in fear, his heart grew cold. "Mrs. Spencer I will not work with him,"

"Sorry, Kate?"

"I said I won't work with him,"

* * *

I couldn't believe who I was paired with.

I wouldn't have cared that it was a new student but a _man? _Something had to be wrong. "Kate come over here," Mrs. Spencer said.

With an annoyed sigh, I stood up and walked to the teacher. I took a quick glance at the new kid. He was just sitting, innocently. His head traveling around the room, with no organized direction. One second he looked left then he was staring at the back of the room. Just to look back to the left. What was his name? Henry? He talked so quietly that I couldn't hear him.

"Kate, why won't you work with him?" She asked raising a brow. She just sat at her desk. It wasn't well organized, though it wasn't a mess either. She always knew where everything was to so I guess it wasn't horrible.

Why wouldn't I work with him? The answer was simple, I don't like _him. _The reason was... well I don't need a specific one. Other than he's a _vile _being. "Well, I don't know him," I calmly lied.

"Get to know him, or is it because he's a _he__?__"_ She stated, giving me a knowing look, with a small smirk, hidden under her left paw.

I choked a bit at the sudden accusation. Sure it was partly true but... "Listen Kate... I know, hell everyone knows how you feel about men. I don't know why you do but just give him a chance. In a weeks time though... if you really want to switch... I'll pair you with Jane" she declared with a grin.

_Jane..._

Who was she? Just one of Garth's playthings. She's just an annoying slut who tries to get under my skin... Nothing was worse than her... With a groan in defeat and through gritted teeth I replied, "Fine,"

Grabbing my stuff I walked (While trying my best to hide my anger) and sat next to my project 'buddy'.

* * *

"Hi, Henry I'm Kate..." She started putting her stuff on the table. I just waved in response. _Henry?_

"Okay... What company do you want to choose? I say we choose something like Coca-Cola or Walmart or something..." She said, grabbing out her computer.

I didn't exactly care what company we worked on, as long as she didn't kill me. So I simply shrugged. "Are you even gonna help?" I nodded. "Really? Okay... IF you're gonna help where's your computer? Why aren't you trying to cooperate? In case you don't know this is a _partnered_ project and I don't plan to fail and ruin my perfect grade because of my _partner_,"

She had venom in her voice, poison was in every word. That, of course, wasn't a good sign. I simply shrugged. What else could I do? Even if I wanted to speak she would lash out as soon as I did! Opening my bag I showed her that my computer case wasn't there.

"Where's your computer? Did you break it?" She said glaring daggers, seeming to pierce through my soul. Her eyes just showed hatred down to the last atom.

I shook my head. Yes, my computer was broken but I wasn't the one who broke it. It was actually my buddy Shakey. He did it by accident, we were hanging out at me and Salty's dorm. We being dumb throwing a small bouncy ball waiting for Salty and Mooch to arrive so we could watch a movie. He tried a behind the back and hit my computer on the table. The thing fell and broke...

"Then where is it?" She asked, accusingly, keeping the glare.

I looked at my bag. Averting my eyes so I couldn't see her reaction. "It's getting repaired..."

"Because you broke it!" she snapped back. Her words again filled with poison. "Fuck it, we're doing Coca-Cola," She wrote Coca-Cola on a paper and handed it to the teacher walking back. "Just try to not be useless, please,"

With that, the conversation was over. I grabbed my phone and did some research, I had taken a quick glance at her and saw she was studying the history of the company so I studied the factories, employment, and other small things, writing it all down in my notebook.

When the bell rang I rushed out, I don't think I left a class faster in my life! I went to my next class, technology honors, there was absolutely no way this class could be worse than the last one. I mean sure another new class but still couldn't be too bad right?

Wrong... I showed up just in time since I couldn't find the damn room, to only see the princess... again. The teacher this time just greeted me with "Hey class this is the new student!" he didn't mention my name, just that I was new. I took the most isolated seat I could again.

All we did was learn to blend things in pictures... 'like pros' I should add. Thankfully talking to the princess wasn't a part of that class, so it did end up better after all.

I soon figured out that I had every class with Kate... I was not excited. I only introduced myself in one class so she must still think of me as 'Henry'. Not that it mattered, after this semester I wouldn't have to be near her anymore. Well, at least not be in a project with her. After the small interaction we had in Business Honors, I'm sure that I don't want to be near her if I don't have to be.

The bell rang signaling the end of today's lessons. So I tried to take my leave, only to be stopped a few feet away from the door by none other than the princess herself. "Let me see your phone," she demanded, quite rudely.

Quickly trying to just get out of here and meet my buds I grabbed my phone and handed it to her. I never had a lock since I had no reason to. I had nothing to hide and nothing really personal on it. She quickly typed my number in her phone and handed it back to me. I saw that she had labeled me as 'Quiet Kid'. If I'm honest I'm surprised she didn't label me 'Vermin' or something.

I just quickly pocketed my phone and went to the front of the building to meet my friends, deciding to just go with the flow for the rest of the day.

**And there's the first chapter.** **I'm actually excited about this story. It's been on the back of my mind for quite a while and only now did I decide to write it.**

**Also, some good news is that now whenever my little bro goes to bed my mother is allowing me to use his Chromebook so I can write again, (Obviously).**

**And I wanted to real quick for my buddies on Kik who read this, Thank you guys so much again for being in my life. You may not know it but all of you have given me a confidence that I didn't even know I had, I'm finally coming out of my shell so thanks.**

**Anyway, not trying to bore you lads so I'll see all you beautiful people in the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

The next few days weren't any better, Kate still was being pretty difficult to handle to Humphrey. Or should he just say Henry now? What made things worse was that they started to fall behind the rest of the class since all of Humphrey's notes weren't on the computer, just in his notebook. What made things worse was that she told him they _had _to meet up since he was slowing _her _down!

_Wasn't Friday supposed to be a good day?_

She made the plan to meet up at the Dunkin Donuts, which of course he responded with a small nod. Kate still only heard the thing he said Monday, clearly at least. It made things just that much _more_ difficult to work with him. She'd be lying if she said her patience wasn't running thin. Though who's wouldn't? They were project _partners. _That meant they were supposed to _talk _to each other. Usually, she wouldn't mind, or rather be happy that a boy wasn't talking to her, but when it counted for her perfect grade? That meant that personal feelings were off! She _had _to stay perfect, and no _boy _was gonna ruin that.

On her way to the Dunkin Donuts, she met up with her group, no way she would be alone with _him._ He'd be up to something if they were alone. What made her think that? Just a hunch. A gut feeling that's been there for a couple of years now. God, she hated senior year. Worst year of her life.

Soon Kate's friend Diana spoke up, "So uh, why are we here? Why not just grab lunch at the Olive Garden or something?"

With an annoyed sigh, Kate gave her an agitated response, "Because I need to meet my project partner real quick so he can write his notes on my computer so we can catch up with the rest of the class! Then we can get Olive Garden, my treat okay?"

"Hold up... _he?" _Jasmine suddenly asked bewildered. Suddenly the rest of the girls had the same reaction.

With a shaking head and another agitated sigh, she explained, "Yeah, I know, I ain't happy with the arrangement, but it's this quiet kid or Jane Ives, so I think the choice was clear,"

"Is he cute?" Diana asked, eyes glistening with hope. Why? Who the hell knows, she already has a boyfriend so she has no need to care.

"Does that matter!? He's just my stupid project partner who's slowing me down!" Kate snapped, causing her friends and sister to take a step back, the reaction immediately made Kate regret her small outburst, "Sorry Diana, I'm on edge"

Diana just giggled, "No problem Kate, I'll forgive you, if he's cute anyway," Kate rolled her eye's at the comment.

The place was in sight, the orange and purple were unmistakable. Next to the entrance was none other than her project partner, pointing at him and with an annoyed tone she said, "Rate him yourselves,"

With that they looked to the kid she pointed at, instantly they whispered what they thought. Kate just rolled her eye's but decided to give him a look anyway. He wasn't muscled like Garth but, he was clearly fit. He had these icy-blue eye's that seemed to study the soul. His platinum and black fur looked well kept and gentle. His tail looked nice and fluffy. Though his sense of fashion was awful, just a black t-shirt and black jogging pants. His shoes were just black and white Under Armor running shoes. She couldn't deny that the kid was attractive (Excluding his fashion sense). Anyone who said otherwise either was lying just plain weird.

_That doesn't make him good though._

Humphrey, on the other hand, hadn't noticed the five girls that were rating him. He was too busy on his phone, he was checking the weather hoping it wouldn't rain since he hadn't brought his coat. He definitely didn't want to be soaked today. Then again was there ever a day one wanted to be soaked? Suddenly a message popped up in his group chat, _'__Yo Humphrey where are you? We at our place just eating some of the delicious lasagna you made'. _It was from Salty.

He chuckled at the comment. Quickly clicking reply he typed as fast as he could, _'I'm at the Dunkin near the MB'. _As soon as his text sent he immediately got a response, _'Okay'_

With that he turned his phone off and pocketed it, to be greeted by five women, just looking at him. Of course, he knew them all.

Jasmine Smith, daughter Gary Smith. And the heir to the famous bank. Check-It Bank.

Diana Alves, daughter of famous model Daniella Alves. Of course, Diana wants to follow in her mother's footsteps, she hasn't had a bad start either. Already been in a few photoshoots with a couple being put on big-name magazines.

Next was Gloria Nelson, daughter of Irene Nelson, an actress who has won now ten Grammys at her age of 46.

Lastly but definitely not least was the Wilson sisters. Daughters of probably the most powerful couple in the world. Winston and Eve Wilson. Kate the elder daughter by one year is the heir to her father's company Wilson Enterprises while Lily is the heir to their mother's company, Fashion Factual. It's, of course, an extremely huge clothing and jewelry company.

Even if he knew who they were it didn't stop him from being a little freaked out by their stares. He gave a little nervous wave.

Four of the five burst into laughter, the only one who didn't was his project partner, who just scoffed and walked inside. He quickly followed her in and they sat at a table next to the window, the rest followed after a being outside laughing for a solid ten seconds.

"Henry hurry up so I can get out of here," Kate said rather harshly. He nodded and grabbed the computer. After opening up powerpoint he grabbed his notes and started to work.

"So Henry... How are you?" Jasmine asked, with a tone that Humphrey couldn't quite pick up. He just gave her a simple shrug, continuing to type. He had it in his mind that if he stopped for even a moment Kate would lash out at him.

"Can you speak?" she asked. His response was only a nod, he didn't even look at her, just continued to type away.

"Hey aren't ye the poor kid who got a full-ride scholarship because of yer great grades?" Gloria suddenly asked with her heavy accent. He blushed, embarrassed about his financial situation and gave a quick but tiny nod, still having his eyes on the screen.

"Wow, so you're cute and smart," Diana butted in, giggling. He just shrugged and kept typing. He didn't pay attention when people called him cute. Why? Well, he usually believed that they were just being nice, it wasn't the truth to him. He just looked like a poor kid when he looked at the mirror. He wasn't a sculpture made by God, he was just some poor kid that lived in Gladwin, Michigan.

He noticed Jasmine elbow Diana. Why? He couldn't say he knew, but he could guess. Probably was just telling her to stop with the joke. "How many classes do you have with my sister?" Lily had suddenly asked.

With that question, he had no idea how to answer. He didn't want to speak. He just kept typing, "Answer the question, Henry," Kate finally spoke up. She just glared at him, venom in her voice. His body tensed up. What should he do? With an annoyed sigh, Kate turned to her sister, "He's in every one of them," her voice had been growing more agitated, she was near the limit of her patience.

"So... do you like to do anything?" Lily asked another question. Of course, it couldn't be a simple yes or no, could it? He decided to just shrug.

She asked another question, "Why are you in studying business?" Humphrey's answer was just another shrug, as he continued to switch between his notes and the computer. Silently reading to check for mistakes in his grammar. A slight frown forming on his face, a sign of his concentration.

"You do know that reading out loud is better for checking your work right?" Kate suddenly asked, again rather rudely. A nod was all he did.

"Are you gonna answer a fucking question normally asshole!?" Kate snapped.

Humphrey flinched in reaction. His attention went solely on her. His hands froze, the typing ceased. Fear was all he felt as he stared at her.

The tone... that hateful tone he was all too familiar with. Suddenly memories just came into view. Those awful days. The torture. The things he hid from others for so long. Suddenly a certain memory came rushing back. He looked at Kate and did nothing. She stared back, fire in her eyes. Anger boiling.

Suddenly he didn't see her, or anyone else. He was back at his apartment. With him in front of him. He was just stuck... staring at him. Staring at something that seemed unable to recognize who he was. Tears formed the longer he stared as he feared what would happen next.

When he made it back to reality, Kate was shouting, "Are you even listening you little shit!?" Her friends taken aback by her actions, the other students looked at him with sympathy.

"Shit!"

Humphrey snapped his head back to see his three friends, he knew that voice was familiar. They looked shocked, but that shock quickly switched to anger. "What did you do to him!" Shakey yelled, seeing the tears on his face.

"What did _we _do!? What do you mean what did _we _do!?" Kate snarled back, Humphrey had to do something, "Why don't you ask you're buddy Henry here! Oh, wait the little shit acts all high and mighty! Doesn't want to waste his damn voice huh!" The last sentence she snapped her head to Humphrey, her face filled with rage.

"What! His name's Humphrey! How can you talk shit about him when you don't even know his name!" Salty spat back. "And what do you mean 'High and mighty' _P__rincess_,"

"G-Guys," Humphrey tried to speak up. His attempt in vain as they could not hear him.

"You have no right to talk to me like that! You're a damn nobody!" Kate spat back, going to Salty, her friends following suit. Leaving Humphrey at the seat near the window.

"You know what! Yeah, I am! At least I don't act like I run the damn place cuz my Daddy is the founder of it! At least I don't hate someone because of who they are! At least I-"

"Salty shut up!"

Everyone went quiet. Looking at the owner of the voice. The voice though loud sounded gentle. How? No one knew how. The biggest surprise was who spoke. It was none other than Humphrey, tears still in his eyes. Standing up he walked between the two groups. Who looked to be on the verge of fighting.

He looked back and forth between the two groups before just settling with his friends."Listen, guys. I'm fine okay. Let's just go to the dorm," He then looked to Kate, "My notes are on the table if you want to you can type them up or wait till tomorrow for me. Tomorrow I will have my computer so I won't be _useless_ to you anymore. I'm sorry I didn't speak. I'm also sorry that I came off the way you thought I did. And sorry for my friends, they're just protective. It won't happen again," Looking back to his friends he gestured them to leave, walking to the employee at the register he pulled out fifty-bucks, "Does this cover the whole scene, sir?"

The employee looked at him, shocked. He then looked around the back. Checking for something. Seeing nothing he turned back with a grin. "Sorry sir I'm going to need another fifty, that was a pretty scary situation,"

Humphrey sighed, of course, it wasn't enough. That's the way this works. Humphrey wasn't dumb, he knew the guy just wanted the extra cash. The problem was Humphrey wasn't in a position to just refuse him. He looked through his wallet and saw he didn't have enough to pay the man. He only had another fifteen dollars, "Listen, sir, I just paid for my computer to be fixed and my dorm bills, I don't have another fifty,"

The employee sighed at him.

* * *

Kate was surprised, replaying the whole situation. How he'd spoken, how he said sorry. How... _different_ he handled the situation. Looking at the wolf who she now knew as Humphrey, who just offered an employee fifty-bucks for a scene he had barely contributed to, in fact, he was the defuser.

The employee _disgusted _her though... He had just asked for double the amount. _Money hungry bitch._ By law, Humphrey didn't even have to pay a penny for what just transpired, but he was... _kind _enough to. When she saw that he didn't have enough pay, just being walked on by this sad excuse of a wolf, she dare say she felt... _sympathy? _For a _man _no less.

"Listen, sir, I just paid for my computer to be fixed and my dorm bills, I don't have another fifty," he said, handing him the fifty again. She couldn't see his face but she could see the tears on his fur, he was still crying... Why? Why was he crying in the first place?

After seeing the employee sigh with a grin she grew angry again. "Well, that's too bad, I guess I should just call security or something,"

Humphrey seemed to begin to shake. Was it out of anger? No, his shaking didn't give the angry vibe. Was he scared? Why would he be scared? "Sir, please don't do that. Um, I-I'll take over your shift! Just..., please don't call security. My friends, nor these kind ladies deserve that,"

He was defending them! What! After how little she treated him, _he_ still wanted to help her! Who the hell was this kid!

"I'm afraid that won't do, you see it's one-hundred bucks or security," the employee offered while taking that first fifty bucks.

Kate had enough, "How about none of the above," she said walking to the counter.

The employee looked at her, wide-eyed. "I'm sorry miss?"

Kate laughed, this damn kid was hilarious! "Let me put it this way, either you give him back the money and keep your job... or you could be forced to give him the money and lose your job! Don't test me either kid," She said starting to scroll through her phone.

The employee laughed, about to talk back, until he saw the phone, she was ringing her father. Of course, everyone knew her father. His business being one of the biggest out there! Of course, she had been on TV many times thanks to that so her face was well known. The employee gave a nervous chuckle and handed Humphrey the fifty-bucks while saying sorry, and running away.

_Pathetic._ She thought, chuckling in her mind.

She watched as Humphrey just looked at the money, then to her. He opened his mouth, to then close it. He then gave her a single shy nod and walked to his friends. Out the door.

Shaking her head she scoffed. Grabbed her stuff and his notebook and met up with her own friends.

This boy just confused her. He was just so... different. Why didn't he speak, unless it was his only choice? Why didn't he tell her that Henry wasn't his name? How could he be so kind? How could he be so... spineless, so... different? Why was he not what she expected him to be?

Who exactly was Humphrey?

**That's chapter 2. If I'm honest this didn't go as I planned and I nearly convinced myself to redo the entire thing. I just gave it a huge edit and got this as a result. I really hope this turned out fine.**

**Anyway, I'll see all you beautiful people in the next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

Kate had gotten home that day, awfully confused. She was laying in her bed, just staring at the ceiling. None of him made sense.

She just couldn't wrap her head around the idea that a guy could be... Could be whatever the hell he was! It wasn't normal. It wasn't wolf nature. Sure he was an Omega but that didn't change the fact that he was a man acting... acting like that! It was impossible! No man acts like that, no man is that!

She had never heard a boy say sorry. Never seen a boy so quiet. Never heard a man yell in a gentle voice. Never seen a boy who would pay for a scene he wasn't a part of or a scene in general, or try to anyway. Never had she seen someone who was so spineless for himself but had a backbone when it came to his friends. Never did he get mad either.

_How can he be so unreadable? _

It was so frustrating! He was just so different from every other boy she had ever seen. He wasn't a dumb jock like Garth, who's life was just sex. He wasn't trying to act cool like Hutch. He wasn't like his nerdy friends, who wanted a social life so badly. He was an outcast. He stood out without trying to. He seemed afraid of people, demonstrated by his isolation.

"Who are you...?" Kate asked.

"Who is who?" came the sudden voice of her younger sister. The suddenness of her sister causing her to give a slight yelp. She would be lying if she said she didn't get scared. She must have been so deep in thought that she didn't hear her sister.

"Lily! Nothing! Nobody! What did I say about knocking on my door!" she tried to deflect, clearly failing because of the slight spook earlier.

Lily's face basically told the story, Kate was not getting out of this one. "Is this about that quiet kid? I can't remember his name but the one who we sat with at Dunkin?" she kept trying to explain herself. As if Kate didn't get the point.

As sisters, they could always read one another like the back of their hands. They always knew when the other was upset, or angry. They always knew why, if they had context. They always could basically read each other's mind. And they were always there for each other. So lying was definitely useless. "Yes, it is...I just can't wrap my head around the guy! He's just such an annoyingly different wolf! He isn't categorizable, he's an outcast! It... it just gets me so angry sis,"

Lily only chuckled, her sister was priceless. Her sexism was completely funny sometimes. She couldn't help but tease her sister, "Well then give him his own category, ooh I got a name for it! 'Interest'," Daggers suddenly made their way to her. "What's wrong sis?"

Kate growled in agitation, her voice kinda muffled due to her gritting her teeth, "What exactly does that mean Lily?"

She knew what she meant. That didn't mean she liked it. She would make sure her sister knew that too. There was no way ever a possibility of that! "Uh, for me to know and for you to find out!" Lily said with a nervous grin, running away.

Kate grinned, her sister had quite the imagination. And because of that, she was going to die tonight, "Oh yeah?"

* * *

Humphrey had gotten home at about 3:30 p.m. with his buddies. They were gonna probably watch a movie until Humphrey got a call from his boss saying he needed him. After groaning in frustration that he had to work on his day off he got his uniform and ran to the office.

Apparently, today was a bad day there, about fifteen employees called in sick and no one else was really answering the call to work in their place.

Humphrey found that quite odd. Why not just accept the extra shifts? If someone gives you the opportunity to make more money then it would make sense to accept the deal. After all, money does run the world. To be honest, though Humphrey didn't care about any of that. At the end that just meant that he would make even _more_ and he definitely could use that.

But this... this was insane. By now Humphrey was on his third delivery run of the day. Each one was more excruciating than the last. Now though... he was set to go to the Golden Dormitory. It was the dormitory filled with the best of the best. You had to have money and good grades to live there. Like a lot of money. Money which he definitely didn't have.

It was already eleven-thirty now and usually the postal service would close by then but today again was a bad day. They needed to get everything they could deliver which meant that this time they would work past the usual closing time. Thankfully though this was Humphrey's last run. All he needed to do was put this box in front of room 527 and leave. Simple.

_Of course, the elevator had to be broken, and the lady at the desk just had to be annoying!_

Humphrey probably was never more excited to see the number five in his life. That number looked like heaven itself was shining it saying the journey was almost over. Pretty soon he could go home, sleep and get ready for his last day of school this week.

Walking through the door he looked frantically through the hall trying to find his destination. _521, 523, 525, 527! _He was home free! After this, he could walk home and sleep!

Humphrey could hear music playing loudly on the other side. Then the door opened. Two drunk wolves were walking out, the man saying a bunch of shit like 'We's gonna have so much fun at my place!'. As he peered inside he could see over twenty other wolves most of which were dancing, a few cans of beer, and a closet door open with two wolves walking out, their clothes basically ripped. It was a party. A big one at that.

And it was definitely a place he never wanted to return to. Why? Simply put he hated parties. Any kind of them. He couldn't exactly deal with loud places, too many drunks, the dancing, or some of the games that were played. He just wasn't a fan. Never was, never would be.

Sighing he went to place the box down so he could run down until heard someone yelled, "Hey you! Package boy!"

Package boy. That was definitely a nickname he didn't like. Though it wasn't like he could blame the guy, it wasn't like they ever met. Looking up he saw none other than Tadashi Yamada. Quite possibly the best computer genius in the college. He was also captain of the school's volleyball team. The kid was a decently buff and tall Asian. "So uh, wheres my man Baker today?"

Baker? Who the hell is Baker? Was he a delivery man that usually came to this dorm? It made some sense. Except for the fact that it was weird. Humphrey had never got the same place twice and he worked at the post for over nine months now. Why did he even care? He didn't actually. It just seemed off some way. What could it be? Maybe he was just overthinking the situation. Either way, he had to give an answer before he seemed weird.

He shrugged in response. Which to him was a harmless gesture. But what seemed to him as a harmless gesture had clearly been seen _very _differently by Tadashi. He looked pissed. He was scowling as he looked at Humphrey. His eyes bloodshot red, fist clenched, and Humphrey could hear a faint growl.

Just then the door opened behind them, revealing a very, _very _angry blonde wolf.

* * *

Kate couldn't take the noise anymore. She had been trying to sleep for a very long time. Then finally just as she was dozing off it grew much louder. She had enough of Tadashi and his constant partying, it was time she spoke her mind. "I'm going to fucking kill this damn wolf!" She shouted to herself. She quickly went to find her bathrobe, preferably not wanting to go out there in just her underwear. When she couldn't find it she grabbed whatever looked comfortable. She settled with her usual inside pajamas and stomped her way to the door.

Upon opening the door she could see Tadashi staring down a certain annoying wolf. What was he even doing here! That's when she noticed the package. _So now he's ad delivery man. _She just ignored it and stormed right next to her project partner. "Tadashi I am trying to sleep! So if you would be willing to fuck off or turn down the noise it'd be great! Or I'll make you, got it!?" She shouted venom and rage filled her words. And the words seemed to be like bullets of course aimed at the volleyball captain.

Tadashi simply grunted and grabbed his package slamming his door. Leaving the project partners alone in the hallway. Now Kate had a second problem and a question. "Now if you may enlighten me, what the fuck are you doing here!?"

Humphrey looked at her, the only thing she saw in his eyes was fear. Fear of what? She didn't care. All she knew was that it made him afraid of her and she _loved_ that. Why exactly she didn't know. In fact, it kind of made her sick, why was she so happy that he was afraid of her. It wasn't healthy.

_Him_

She was beginning to act like _him_. That awful man, that sorry excuse for a wolf. The way she felt resembled the way _he felt._

As soon as she realized that she stopped. She then as if for the first time, looked at Humphrey. He was in the college postal service uniform. His bag filled with packages was empty and he had tears wanting to escape his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said as he bolted down the stairs. She could see the painful aura around him.

Though the worst thing was his face.

Those tears that seemed to want to escape him. The pain in his eyes. The way his lips trembled. The way he looked at her. It just showed that he was hurt. It just showed her that he indeed was different. She had never seen a guy cry until earlier today. She had never seen her words affect a man as she did today. She had never seen such a selfless gesture by a man like she did today. And all those first were thanks to him.

She had never even seen her father do any of those things. And only now did she actually see her father as a man. He was the only man she didn't hate.

Maybe she should at least try to talk to Humphrey. Maybe she should try to at least be a little kinder to him.

And if he still was the same guy he was showing to be?

Then she should try to befriend him. But first, she would have to earn his forgiveness.

* * *

Humphrey made it back at one o'clock and immediately raced to the bathroom. After turning on the light he turned the sink on. He couldn't hold it anymore. Everything had just come out, he was whaling in pain. Why did she hate him? Why did everyone at this school except his friends hate him? And why did he push his friends away? Why? Why was all he could think. Nothing else could come into his head. Why was he so scared of everyone? Why did he isolate himself? Why did he want to hurt himself?

No matter how hard he thought he couldn't find a single answer.

He wanted so hard to blame others, blame everyone else for his pain. He wanted with every fiber of his being say it was their fault.

But the problem was that it wasn't.

Nobody exactly hurt him for no reason. Nobody caused his trauma. Nobody made him a quiet kid.

That was all him.

He was the one who started problems. He was the one who pushed everyone out. He was the one who stayed quiet. He was the one who couldn't trust. He was the one who couldn't just talk. He couldn't laugh. He couldn't joke. He wasn't himself anymore.

And that was his fault. And he knew that better than everyone.

He looked at the mirror, his eyes now bloodshot. His face had many tears. He shook his head and grinned. Cupping some water in his paws he washed his face. Turning the water off he made his way to the towel he got for Christmas six years prior as a gift from Mooch. Drying himself he left the bathroom.

Tomorrow he vowed, he would try his best. Isolation, in the end, was his friend. And he was protecting Humphrey. Much better than he could protect _himself._

**Wow that was exactly what I wasn't expecting to happen. I had a completely different plan for the hallway incident and instead, I wrote this. I gotta say that this ending was definitely better. Adds conflict and drama, guess that's what happens when you get into watching a drama series huh? **

**I think I'm moving a bit quick with Kate, so I think that's why I let this happen to Humphrey. To slow things down. **

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I'll see all you beautiful people in the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

Kate was getting angry. She had known that Humphrey was a quiet kid, but he _never ignored _her. He was acting like she didn't exist. Only looking at her computer screen to make sure they weren't working on the same thing.

He was clearly hurt. She knew that the way he was acting was her fault. And she knew it was up to her to fix it.

The question now was how.

How could she fix this? To do that she would need him to look at her and listen. How would she go about that though? To do that she would need his attention. How was she gonna get it? How was she gonna do anything? She didn't know, and that is what made her angry. The fact that she for the first time had no idea how to fix her mistake.

But she needed to do this. Why? She didn't know the answer to that. If she was honest she couldn't care less if Humphrey wasn't her friend. She couldn't care less if he hated her. She couldn't care less if they never spoke again.

_Then why?_

Why did she feel the need to do this? Why did she want to give him a chance? Why did she want his forgiveness? Why was it that he couldn't leave her head? Just why..?

She didn't know. She didn't know any of it. And it made her angry. Angry at herself and her conflicting feelings. Angry at her conflicted mind, over this _boy._ He didn't mean anything to her. He was just a project partner. Just some guy she was stuck with for a semester to get a good grade. Nothing more.

None of it made sense. None of it.

But again she needed to do this. So she kept thinking of how she could go about doing it. She was focusing on this more than her own work. Her brain kept racking for a solution. Though she only came up with two, and neither was exactly good.

Solution number one was she could do it by force. When the bell rang she could stop him before he left, physically if she had to. She would then ask them to go somewhere. Again if he didn't agree then she would drag him. She could then apologize. If he denied then that would be that.

Solution two she hated even more. She could try to acquire his phone and text one of his friends. She remembered that he didn't lock his phone so the password wouldn't be a problem. She could get the numbers of his friends and ask for their help. The problem with this was that his friends and she weren't on good or even neutral terms after the scene at Dunkin yesterday. So their reliance wouldn't exactly be expected. Or wanted really.

Either way, both plans acquired a lot of work with very little chance of success. Though again she needed to do this. For some reason.

So with a sigh, she again attempted to talk to her very isolated partner. "Hey Humphrey, is it okay if I see your phone?" He was just sitting there typing away on his newly repaired HP laptop. The color of it was red and black. He was leaning forward in his chair, staring intently at the screen. His brow slightly frowning showing his intense focus on his work. He was silently mouthing what he wrote, checking for mistakes and seeing how it sounded to him.

She looked at him hopefully, hoping he'd react. And react he did. He didn't look at her or in her general direction. He just grabbed his phone and gave it to her. She was kind of hoping that maybe he would look at her, for even just a second. Of course, she didn't know why she wanted that. Probably because the feeling of being ignored sucks but why did she care? Mostly coming from him?

Pushing personal thoughts out of her head, focusing on her task at hand she quickly copied the only three contacts he had that weren't family. Typing each of them a text simply put as _'Hey can you help me?' _she while typing wondered who named their children those names? They were extremely weird names. Anyway with all that done she gave him his phone back and waited for their replies.

And she would wait for a reply until her third class, it was from the one named Salty. Who insulted her at Dunkin.

_S: 'Help with what? Who is this?' _

_K: 'Humphrey. He's kind of mad at me and I want to say sorry. This is Kate. Also, I'm sorry about the whole thing at Dunkin'_

_S: 'Oh. How about fuck off'_

_Talk about a harsh rejection._

She understood why if she was honest, though that didn't stop her from getting angry. _What a dickhead. _She didn't care for him much though. She just had to let it go or else she would miss notes.

Period four she was texted by the one named Mooch. She had no idea which of the other two he was. All she knew was that if he agreed she could probably apologize to Humphrey.

_M: Help? Who are you and how did you get my number?_

_K: I need help apologizing to Humphrey. I got your number through his phone. I'm Kate._

_M: Oh. Why apologize? Also, how did you get his phone?_

_So he's the questioner of the group_

_K: I feel bad for what I did at Dunkin and late last night when he was delivering a package across my dorm. And I got his phone by asking him. _

_M: What happened when he was delivering a package?_

_K: I was trying to sleep and it was already about 11:30 and the guy across from my dorm as per usual was throwing a party. The music grew louder so I went to tell him to stop the party or turn down his music. Humphrey was apparently there delivering a package to him and after I yelled at my neighbor I got mad at Humphrey for being there. I was extremely tired and I hadn't noticed his uniform so I kinda yelled at him too. He then teared up said he was sorry and ran off. I feel really bad._

_M: Oh okay. Well I'm sorry to disappoint you princess but if you want to apologize to my buddy you need to do it yourself. Not that I don't want to help but you owe it to him to work for that apology_

So he wasn't gonna help. With a frustrated sigh, she pocketed her phone not caring to text him anymore. Then she heard another buzz.

_Sh: Help with what?_

_K: Humphrey. We're on bad terms and I want to apologize to him. _

_Sh: I can't help you with that. That's you and Humphrey, not me. Princess._

Wait how did he know it was her

_K: How did you know who I was?_

_Sh: Your the only I know who has some kind of beef with Humphrey. _

Of course she was... He was so isolated in every classroom that it was impossible for other people to have beef with him.

This whole situation was frustrating. She knew that them being uncooperative was a high possibility but this was insane. They all seemed ready to help until they knew it was her, which made sense. But it was pretty shitty. And it was _extremely _difficult to accept that truth.

Sadly she couldn't think about that much more. Not that she wanted to. Right now her main issue was apologizing to her project partner. And now she was down to one option. She was gonna force him to look at her.

She wasn't gonna give him any other option.

* * *

Humphrey was excited, he was almost home free. He could just go home and read or sleep. Or anything! All he needed to do was wait for the bell to ring.

The teacher was done with today's lesson so he had nothing better to do than wait for the bell, which meant that he was gonna be eyeing his phone.

Then he heard the chair next to him push out... He looked at the mysterious figure that just felt like they should sit next to him before the bell.

He shouldn't have been surprised.

It was none other than his project partner. The princess of the school. Hater to all men. And someone he rarely ever saw not angry. In fact, today was the first day that she wasn't angry. Today was the first time she really tried to talk to him.

_Not that it mattered, and not l__ike she cared._

"Hey Humphrey, how's your side of the project going?" she asked, staring at him. He couldn't get over the uncomfortable feeling that the most _sexist_ girl he ever met was staring at him. A _boy. _It was unsettling, it was uncomforting. It was giving him anxiety.

_Business as per usual._

She never stopped staring at him though. Her gaze screaming determination. "Are you okay?"

_No._

He continued to ignore her. He wasn't one to talk, mostly to people who hated him. That was a given. Now he was showing that he wasn't interested in interacting with anyone. It wasn't like anyone cared. So her asking that question caught him off guard. "Listen are you free when the bell rings?"

_Yes technically. But no._

Keeping his ground, he continued to ignore the blonde girl that was his project partner. The blonde girl who _hated _men. The blonde girl who until now he only ever saw angry. The blonde girl who he would only now admit, who he was afraid of.

That's right he was afraid.

Afraid of the anger she held. Afraid of her impatience. Afraid of her lash outs. Afraid of her aggressive nature. Afraid of her harsh tone. Afraid of her sexism. Afraid of her voice when she yelled. Afraid of her.

And afraid of who she constantly reminded him of.

All he could do was wait her out. Ignore her, frequently check his phone, and listen for the bell so he could rush out. That was all he needed to do.

The issue was if he could. And if she would give in. If there was one thing that anyone and everyone admired about Kate, it was that giving up wasn't something she did. If she set her mind on something she could fail as many times as it takes to accomplish her goal. She was persistent and determined. She was a fighter. And she was a fighter who could lose to someone a million times and keep fighting, just so she could win.

She always came out victorious.

And that was gonna be his biggest obstacle, her undefeated streak, she would strive to win no matter what.

And right now her goal had something to do with him. How did he know? Because of her eyes. They were set on something. They were determined. And he was apart of that goal someway somehow.

The bell-ringing pushed him out of his thoughts. Relief washed over him as he stood up ready to walk to the door and out of the main building. Relief that he wouldn't have to see Kate. Relief that he wouldn't have to hear her. Relief that he wouldn't have to be near her presence.

And all that relief went away when a hand grabbed his arm. Tracing the appendage covered in a pink long sleeve shirt he saw probably the only wolf he should've expected to do this. Somehow though he was caught off guard... again. Staring into her amber eyes a sudden fear reappeared.

Then he was suddenly back in high school, sophomore year. Being dragged out of the school by the arm into a familiar car that he hadn't seen in over three years. He couldn't see who was grabbing him but he knew who it was. He knew what day he was dragged back to.

Suddenly he was snapped out of the sudden flashback, being shaken out of it by the same girl who put him in it just a few moments prior. She now had her hands on his shoulders, a worried expression on her face. "Oh my God, are you okay? Shit, I didn't mean to do it again. Snap out of it Humphrey, you'll be okay!" She was in a slight panic.

_Why? _

Why was the one girl who probably hated him more than anyone else in the school helping him? Why did she suddenly care that she was hurting him? Didn't she hate _him? _Didn't she hate _men? _Why was she suddenly panicking? It made no sense.

He then noticed he again had tears in his eyes. Every time he's brought back he gets them.

She was still shaking him, surprisingly not harshly. She was trying to get his attention, so he gave it. He looked into those amber eyes. They seemed to glisten. They were undeniably beautiful. Just like her. It wasn't a wonder that the most popular and handsome guys in the school asked her out. Though the only response was a harsh rejection, fueled by her extreme talent to just lash out at men.

When she finally realized he was back to reality and now looking at her she sighed in relief. Her sigh of relief turned into a chuckle and for only an instant Humphrey could've sworn he seen her smile. But he couldn't tell. "You okay?"

Humphrey again at the same question was caught off guard. He had no idea why she was asking but even he knew that now he wouldn't be able to play off the _'You don't exist' _act. Not that he needed to. Or even wanted to now, for some reason. His simple answer was a nod.

Another sigh. She finally let go of his shoulders, scared to grab him in case he went away to wherever he was moments prior. "Don't run away okay?"

Humphrey tried his best not to chuckle, he really did. But the sudden request from the princess of the school was hilarious. Mostly when putting in the context of her obvious hatred towards the opposing gender. He quickly shut himself up though, in case she grew angry.

Though she did the opposite. Among hearing his chuckle she giggled, hiding her mouth behind her hand. She was one of the more sophisticated wolves of this generation it seemed. "Pretty weird huh? Me asking a guy not to run away really is out of character for me!" she said continuing to giggle at her own request. Her comment made Humphrey laugh as well as he nodded.

Finally, the ice was broken and their walls were down. They weren't in an awkward or bad moment. They were laughing as if they'd been friends for weeks. As if they knew more about each other than just names. It was a different setting than either was accustomed to while around each other. Not that they minded. No one would mind being in a friendly setting.

Kate decided that now was probably the best time to do what she set out to do. At least while he was in a good mood and the walls were down. "Listen, Humphrey, I need to talk real quick," she started, waiting for his response. He had gone from laughing to looking hesitant. After being frozen for a few seconds, even though it felt like an eternity, he nodded her to continue. Scared of what she would say. "Listen I um. I've noticed how the way I acted has affected you and I want to say sorry. And I mean it when I say it. So I... I'm thinking I can make it up to you?" Now she didn't know what she was saying. All she wanted to do was apologize. What was she saying? She didn't even have control over her own voice anymore.

Humphrey was puzzled. She was apologizing? To him? For the way she acted? What? And now she wanted to make it up to him? He wasn't sure if he was actually awake. It took everything he had not to pinch himself. Instead, he decided to be more discreet and dig his nail into his palm to see if he felt the pain.

He wasn't dreaming.

Kate had noticed the gesture and she tried her best to hide the chuckle that was trying to escape. Usually, an action like that would make her mad but she was fine for some reason. "Yes I know crazy but I'm serious. Let's hang out tomorrow, we won't have school and we could get to know each other. And if it goes well we could become friends!"

Now Humphrey had to be dreaming. Maybe he got into a freak accident and was in a coma? Either way, he wasn't in the real world right now. There was no way. Kate would never. Never in a million years even consider making a man especially him a friend! But he wasn't dreaming. This was the reality. Kate Wilson. The Kate Wilson was asking him to hang out and said that maybe, just maybe they could be friends. He nodded nervously.

She was happy he accepted. This was a good opportunity to maybe better herself as well. And if he was who he was seeming to be then he could be her first male friend she had since high school. "Great! Meet me at the fountain at one! Oh but I do have a condition," She said excitedly. If she was honest she didn't even know what her condition was. Again her mouth was acting on its own. Humphrey grew nervous but nodded his head anyway. "When we hang out, I want you to talk to me. Don't just nod your head. Deal?"

She grew worried at her proposal but thought that it was the best course of action anyway. She wouldn't be able to hang out with him if they wouldn't be able to properly communicate. "...Okay"

Apparently, he felt the same way.

**Well, there it is! Chapter four! I think that this turned out better than expected. I had a different route I was gonna go with but when I started typing I realized the route wasn't exactly fitting. I had planned out both routes of how Kate would apologize and thought the friends' route though would've been good wouldn't make sense because of the whole scene from chapter 2 so I went with this. Originally I wasn't gonna have the flashback at all and do something different but the flashback seemed better and I like how it turned out. **

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I'll see all you beautiful people in the next one!**


	5. Chapter 5

_Where is it? Where is it? Where is it!?_

Humphrey was getting worried quick. It was almost time for him to go so he could meet up with Kate but he couldn't find anything! He was stressing so much over a simple hang out! Who does that!? Not normal people. Then again, he was far from normal...

"Dang it! Where are they?" He mumbled angrily to himself. Where did he leave his stuff? His keys weren't on the bureau like normal. He didn't see his pills for his anxiety. And his deodorant seemed to have vanished! He had never been more stressed over a simple hang out in his life!

"Yo, you okay Humph?" came the sudden voice of his buddy Salty. Who was watching _Insidious _on Netflix. Definitely was a top three favorite movie for him, which Humphrey couldn't understand. Then again he hated the horror genre so how could he complain?

"No, I can't find my keys, pills, or my deodorant and I leave in ten minutes to the main building! What am I gonna do!" Humphrey said. Too stressed to stay quiet he just kept panicking and looking everywhere for his lost items.

Salty paused his movie and looked at him confused. "One, your deodorant is on the place you put your keys, your keys are in the bathroom where the pills should be, and the pills are in the food cabinet. Two, why are you leaving? Three calm the fuck down bud," He proceeded to get up to guide his perturbated friend. Showing him his lost stuff. Calming his nerves.

After getting his things and taking a few pills to calm down. "I'm meeting with Kate at one o'clock. She wants to hang out as an apology and so we can have better chemistry for our project," Humphrey soon explained to his confused friend.

He didn't think about how his friend would react but the reaction was definitely surprising. His face was in a feared scowl. He seemed worried and angry at the same time. It was definitely a weird face. And one Humphrey wasn't used to seeing from Salty. "Shoulda known..." He said pinching his snout. Seeing his friend's confused look he continued. "She had texted me yesterday saying she wanted help saying sorry to you cuz she felt really bad for what she did, I told her to fuck off wanting nothing to do with the damn bitch,"

Humphrey went wide-eyed. He had never seen Salty so strongly hate someone before! "You okay man? Why do you hate her so much?"

Salty gave him a glare. He had never looked at Humphrey that way in the time they've known each other. Never toward him, or toward anyone to Humphreys knowledge. His glare had a hint of surprise. His face showing his thought. Even though it did Salty still asked the question, "How couldn't I? You can't seriously be telling me that after everything that bitch has shown. That she has done. You can't with a straight face say you don't dislike her! She just an entitled sexist asshole! She has blown up on all the popular boys, she's treated every man like scum and let's not forget what happened at Dunkin'!" He had never felt this strongly about someone. Ever. Not to the bullies or some of the teachers in middle and high school. Just Kate. She was the only one who triggered this side of him. It was new and scary to Humphrey.

But he had a point...

Kate had been nothing but awful to Humphrey. He had never witnessed her being nice or even just neutral to a guy. She had done nothing but berate and lash out. She hadn't done anything less or anything more.

So why?

Why would he even give her a chance? Why would he even agree to have this hang out? Why would he accept her apology after what she did to not only him but his friends? Why would he even give her the chance at redemption? He couldn't think of a reason why.

Except for the memory of how she acted at the very end yesterday. She wasn't being an asshole, or mean in any way. In fact, she even laughed! She joked with him! A man! He still couldn't believe that she did that! It was crazy to think about. Now she wanted to hang out to make amends? How could he say no?

Humphrey sighed, "Salty I can't say that I like her... though I can say that I don't dislike her. Sure she's done shit in the past, but she wants to make up for it. I'm gonna give her that chance like I would give anyone else. I think you should too. Now if you'll excuse me I'm actually running late... See ya,"

With that said Humphrey was out the door, leaving behind a shocked and angry Salty. The dorm wouldn't be fun tonight...

* * *

It took him a few minutes to make it to the main building. He had been running the whole way, apparently, he was later than he thought! When he finally at 1:05 arrived he saw Kate in a white Mercedes Benz C63 AMG. It wasn't exactly the car he was expecting a daughter of one of the wealthiest family's would own. Not to say that it was a bad car. It was just an unexpected reality.

When he finally was within a couple of feet of the girl he had to take a moment to catch his breath. Through his heavy breathing he just barely managed to speak, "S-Sorry... I'm late... had... an issue... at home..." His voice fading the more he talked, his throat threatening to completely seal shut. He would be lying if he said he wasn't scared. In fact, he was terrified, he talked more just today than he did in over four months. And at the rate he was going, he would beat what he said all of last year in just a single day!

He was expecting to get a mouthful from her for being over five minutes late but she just laughed. "Thought something might have happened and judging by the fact I wasn't given a text I safely assumed that you weren't canceling. You don't seem like the type to purposely be late, or not show up without a reason. But please elaborate?" Her tone turned serious. Surprisingly there was no hint of anger.

Catching his breath Humphrey sighed. "Well, I was stressing a little and couldn't find my things. I asked my roommate and buddy Samuel if he knew where everything was. After pointing to my things he asked what the deal was. I told him I was meeting you and he just got really angry. I guess he still isn't fond of you because of the whole Dunkin' thing," He had explained everything so quickly. Showing just how nervous he was. Kate had to wonder why he was so nervous.

With a simple nod, she opened her door. "Okay. That makes sense. Any way ready to start our hang out?" She had a simple smile on her face. Unphased on the news that she was talked about behind her back. It confused Humphrey. She wasn't gonna be angry? She wasn't gonna demand answers? She wasn't gonna lash out at him or cancel the hangout?

He didn't have time to think of that now, he couldn't just stand there and think. With a sigh, he walked around to the passenger door and entered the vehicle closing his door behind him. When he fastened his seat belt Kate started the car. "So what should we do? Wanna eat or just hang out somewhere?"

Humphrey took a second to think. He really felt bad. She now knew that she was a topic of conversation and that it most likely wasn't a good one. What should he say? What should he do? "You're not gonna say anything about that? Aren't you angry?" Once he said it he regretted it. He shouldn't have said anything. He should have just let it go. He just couldn't though. He just had to ask. Why? Simply put since it was about her. Anyone would want to know what others say about them behind their backs. At least he knew he would.

Looking at her he saw the smile fade. She didn't frown. She didn't scowl. She just went blank. "No, not really, I kinda figured. He didn't exactly give me a nice text when we talked. I don't care what he thinks of me though. But now I'm curious. What do you think of me?" Once she said that her head turned to face him. She didn't look angry. Just curious.

Humphrey looked forward. He didn't know how she'd take his answer. Not that he planned to lie to her. Just the truth can hurt and he didn't want a repeat from Dunkin' "Well. Simply put I don't like or dislike you. All my friends don't like you and after knowing about how you lashed out at me they expected me to hate you myself. To be honest I think I started to yesterday. But the way you acted had shown me that you weren't a bad person. So I'm neutral right now, but after today I'll either like you or I won't,"

He was scared to look at her. To see her reaction. But in the end, he did anyway. He was surprised, to say the least. Not only was she not mad, but she seemed to approve the answer. "I can take that. If I'm honest I thought you would think worse of me. I haven't been nice to you... at all. Listen I'm sorry that I lashed out. And thank you, for giving me a chance. I guess in a way I'm sort of giving myself and you a chance too," She said smiling. He looked confused to which she giggled. "I mean I never talk to guys and I'm giving myself a chance to trust them again. And that chance was given to you,"

He nodded. He looked about to ask something but ultimately decided against it. What was he gonna ask? She was curious. "Hey Kate, if it's okay, I'm not good at deciding places to go. In fact, I'm usually at my dorm or the park so can you please decide what we do first?"

He beat her to it. He had changed the subject before she could ask what he was gonna ask. Not that she minded. Now she had to think of where to go. As she thought she could feel her stomach begging for food. "How about we eat somewhere? I'm quite hungry," He had a simple nod. "Cool, where to eat... Hey Humphrey where do you usually eat?"

He shrugged, "Nowhere out here. I usually just cook my food or have my buddy Mooch cook it,"

Kate was shocked, which sparked a question, "You at least have had Olive Garden right?" Humphrey shook his head, "Never in your life?" Another shake, "Well then too Olive Garden. There is no way in hell you can live without having Olive Garden at least once!"

With that, she started the car and left for Olive Garden.

* * *

Once at Olve Garden Humphrey could smell the food. The scent of the kitchen invaded his nose making his mouth water in longing. His stomach begging to put at least something in his stomach!

They were seated next to a window where they could barely see one of the parks that resided on the campus. The menu was given as soon as they sat. Looking over the options he just couldn't decide! They all sounded so good! "So you know what you want?"

With a shrug followed by a nervous chuckle he responded "Uh, I actually have no idea what to get... I'm not even sure if I can afford the stuff here... I only have fifteen bucks,"

Now it was Kate's turn to laugh. "You're not paying buddy. I got it. As for your meal. How about we both get a Chicken Piccata?"

Humphrey looked at the mentioned meal and nodded, "That actually sounds quite good! I love zucchini! In fact, it's probably one of my favorite fruits,"

With a gasp, Kate shockingly agreed, "Same here! I love zucchini! Mostly when my mother makes it! I tell ya perfection!"

Humphrey chuckled, "Really? That sounds amazing! I'm jealous. I don't know what a perfect zucchini taste like,"

With a chuckle, Kate laughed, "Yeah... Now I'm curious, tell me something about your Mom,"

After she said that Humphrey went quiet. Looking out the window he sighed. "You know... I could if I would Kate. I never met her. All I know is what she looks like. I haven't seen her since I was three,"

Kate was about to speak but the waitress came up and asked if they were ready to order. After giving their orders for their chicken piccatas (Kate ordering a Corona with hers and Humphrey getting a coke) they went back to their conversation. Kate stressing that she was sorry about the topic and Humphrey dismissing it with a smile.

Eating the meal Humphrey couldn't help but admire the dish. Now wanting to know how to make it he made a mental note to look up the recipe. By far among his favorite dishes now that he tried it. Kate was also noticeably enjoying her dish. Though she ate it sophistically she didn't hide how much she was enjoying the flavor that invaded and conquered her taste buds. Humphrey had to try _really _hard to make sure he didn't laugh at her reaction to the piccata. To put it simply, it was a hard task.

Soon the bill came, which caused Humphrey a lot of embarrassment. The waitress had placed the bill _in front of him! _She thought he was gonna pay! Humphrey had blushed and in shame slid the bill to Kate, who was trying her best to hold in a giggle. She couldn't help but want too, he just looked so adorable doing that! _Wait what?_

What did she just think? He's adorable? That can't be right... She's not supposed to think that anymore! Not after the last time... Mentally she just pushed the thought away. _Just have fun Kate. Nothing is gonna happen because of one da-hang out... Shit. _

Shaking her thoughts she took out her wallet and paid the amount she owed, along with a five-dollar tip. As they left the store she felt a poke on her shoulder. "What is it?" she asked avoiding eye contact.

Humphrey sighed, "So we're gonna act like you didn't just space out? Or do you wanna talk about it? I'm here to help if you need it, Kate,"

She was shocked. He noticed something was up? She spaced out? "How long did I space out?"

Humphrey tapped his musk, "I think only a few moments but it was enough for me to notice it. It seemed serious so if you're not comfortable talking about it I understand. Just know that I'm here to help,"

_So he noticed all that after only a few seconds? How? _With a sigh, she finally looked him in the eye. Her expression was blank but her thoughts were going a mile a minute. "Yeah... it's pretty personal but thanks. I would tell you otherwise but I just can't. The only people that know are my family and at least for now I'd like to keep it that way," She started to instinctively rub her nape. With a sigh, he nodded in understanding. With that, they walked to her car. The time now was 2:47.

"Where shall we go next?" she asked looking at Humphrey, her smile returned and it was beautiful. It was like a Goddess was smiling for the blonde wolf. Humphrey could stare at that smile all day if he was allowed to. Sadly though he couldn't. _Wait what do I mean sadly?_

Shaking the thought out of his head he quickly and nervously replied, "Uh... Well, how about we just walk around the park?"

After giving him a weird look she finally had to ask, "Why go to the park? We could do so many other things!"

It was true. They had everything on the campus. It was that large. They even had their own movie theatre! But Humphrey had his reasons. "Well I mean most things cost money, and I'm broke. Besides walking around the park is peaceful and helps us digest the food! I mean we don't have too if you don't want too but...,"

With a sigh, Kate chuckled. "I don't think I've ever known a guy to like peaceful never mind say it. You're a strange one Humphrey. You're a strange one. So any park you have in mind? Like a go-to park?"

With a shake of his head, Humphrey simply replied with, "I don't have a certain park I like. I just go to the closest one when I feel like it,"

That confused her. Though now she had to ask another question, "Okay... What do you even do in the park? You know other than walk around?"

Humphrey hadn't expected her to agree with his idea, he was even more surprised to hear that question. "Well, I usually go for a run or for a walk. Sometimes I go there and lay in the grass and enjoy the heat. We could just walk and talk or relax somewhere. Unless you wanna do stuff at the playground they added," Humphrey had chuckled at the mention of the park. What a childish thing to do, not that he wouldn't do it. Just wasn't something you'd expect an adult to do.

Kate joined him in his chuckling as the thought of going on the swings or climbing the rope pyramid like she did when she was a kid. Those were the good old days. Just playing with her sister and random kids at the playground. Whether it was tag or hide and seek. Just being a kid who didn't know what life was like or the dangers that came with it. Being able to smile and laugh over everything. Definitely the good old days.

"Okay, I'll bite, just know if we see a swing set we're swinging!" She said as she set off to park near the park. It didn't take long as it was just behind them, she just didn't want her car in the Olive Garden parking lot, where someone could report it and have it towed in the matter of minutes of her leaving.

All that could be seen as they walked in the park was trees and an open field. Kate would be lying if she said she wasn't even slightly nervous. She couldn't help it though. It was uncontrolled anxiety built through past trauma. "Hey, Kate... you okay? Wanna head back?"

His voice was so soothing. It was so reassuring. How though? He was quiet but somehow his words spoke volumes. One thing was for sure, he didn't talk much but when he did he was the most impactful wolf around. How was that possible? She didn't know. She didn't care though. If he was anybody else she would have easily said yes, actually she wouldn't even be here with any other man! But somehow just those seven words were enough to calm her anxiety and convince her she was alright. That nothing would happen. "No, I'm fine but thanks for the offer. Can we sit for a bit?"

She looked at him hopefully. Would he agree? Or would he want to keep walking? They had barely gone out of sight of the car which was just barely visible through the trees. Her heart warmed up when he smiled, "Sure,"

With that one word of confirmation, they laid in the grass, looking up at the sun that was gonna set in a few hours. They lay in silence until Kate decided to break it. She had to ask something that bothered her for a while now. "Hey, Humphrey. Why are you so quiet anyway?"

He didn't answer straight away. Though she knew he was there. Right next to her in the grass, in fact, he was just two feet away from her. When she turned to him she could see he was debating. Debating whether or not to tell her. "Well, that's actually a personal thing. I would rather I not say. At least if it's okay that I don't,"

She couldn't help but feel weird about his answer. Sure the personal part was understandable but the end was just... different. _At least if it's okay that I don't. _An Omega indeed, though never has an Omega been... that Omega. She's never witnessed that. What wolf ask permission to not tell something personal? It was within his right not to. Though he acted like it wasn't. "Of course you don't, I won't push you to tell me,"

"Thanks"

"What do you like to do?" Kate wanted to change the subject, though her undying want to know Humphrey kept tugging at her. So a compromise was made in that question.

Humphrey smiled, "Realistically not much. I like to sing and rap, cook, hang out with my friends, play video games, and relax. I'm just your normal Omega. I know it's astonishing!"

They laughed at his sarcasm. "Really? Very interesting Mr. Omega. I also like to do most of those things, except cook. But add in exercise and anything that includes activity and I love that. Drawing is fun too," Kate finally replied. This was relaxing and fun so far. She never thought she'd enjoy laying in the grass with a cute guy this much! _Shut up brain!_

"You draw! Wow, ain't that something!" She suddenly heard him say. She looked to him to see him smiling, his eyes closed and his guard down. He looked so peaceful lying there, and she had front row seats to see him. She unknowingly took a mental picture of every detail of the sight before her. The way he lay there was just... mesmerizing. Why? Who knows, and who cares! The fact was this moment and this image was beautiful enough for Kate to want to stay there forever. Never in her life had she felt this way and she didn't know why. Though she knew one thing. This boy was different from anyone she knew, and she definitely wouldn't regret today.

Shaking the thoughts out of her head she responded, trying to hide her sudden shyness, "What do you mean?"

With a chuckle he faced her, his smile radiating her to smile. "Well, I for one couldn't draw if my life depended on it! So whenever I hear someone can I find it extremely amazing,"

She laughed at his joke combined with a compliment. "Well, what talents does the school quiet kid have?"

Humphrey chuckled at the nickname, he certainly was the quietest kid to be at the college. "Honestly I don't think I have one. You'd have to ask one of my buds since I don't see a talent within me,"

No talent? That makes no sense. Everyone on the planet has a talent. That was something that Kate firmly believed. Though to find out Humphreys she would have to ask his friends. The same friends who honestly didn't like her at the moment. "Oh. I doubt that Humphrey,"

With a shrug, he chuckled, "Yeah well guess we'll see huh," That being said they went quiet for a bit. Enjoyed the sun and each others company. They were silent for so long Kate surprisingly for multiple reasons, nearly had fallen asleep. She would have if Humphrey didn't speak up, "Thanks for today Kate, I had a lot of fun. I'm glad we hung out today,"

Him saying that made her smile. It meant a lot to know she wasn't the only one who thought today turned out great. "No problem Humphrey. I'm thankful you hung out with me today, I had a lot of fun. You're cooler than you let on. We should do this more. Maybe we could combine our friend groups to one day,"

Humphrey smiled as they made eye contact, "Maybe and definitely. Hanging out with you was great and I'd be down to do it more often,"

Him saying that made her smile. It was good to know he was happy. It was better to know that he reciprocated the feeling of doing this more. Honestly, she was happy to know him now. She was happy she gave him a chance.

**I was thinking of adding a seen for Kate dropping Humphrey off and maybe adding some more drama but I decided to slow that down, besides this felt like a good way to end the chapter. I'm sorry this took so long I've been busy and a little lazy. Doesn't help when a certain Raven won't shut the fuck up about updating the same story! Nah but really sorry it took a while and I hope you all enjoyed it.**

**Anyway, I'll see all you beautiful people in the next chapter! **


	6. Chapter 6

"How were we laying in that grass for three hours! And how is it already 6:30!" Kate exclaimed rushing out of her car. She had just parked after dropping off Humphrey at his dorm. The mental image of his embarrassed face showing her that he lived in what could be counted as the most ghetto dorms in the prestigious campus was stuck in her head. As well as the image from the park. He was just so adorable to her. _Damnit! Bad brain! Stop thinking about Humphrey!_

Why was it that he couldn't leave her head? She couldn't force him out for even a few seconds before he intruded into her mind again.

And again.

And again...

He just wouldn't leave. It was as if he had rented her mind. He only left to check the mail or get a sniff of fresh air.

Honestly though as much as she tried to get rid of him, as much as she denied it, she was happily thinking about that quiet kid.

Without even realizing it she had made it outside her dorm room with her keys in hand. Realizing her surroundings she one last time shook the boy out of her head and with a deep breath opened the door, revealing a living room with her sister and her friends on the couch watching a movie. Actually it was the movie _'What Men Want'_.

"Heyy Kate! How was everything?" Jasmine immediately said upon noticing the blonde wolf's entrance. She was in the corner of the couch with her legs on Diana's and Gloria's. Lily sitting on the other end, back facing her sister, entranced by the movie. Though she gave a small wave to her.

Quickly Kate put her stuff on the counter next to the door. After going to the living room to sit on the surprisingly empty recliner chair. "Well, we went on my apology hangout. I had found out that he didn't hate me and get this... he had never had Olive Garden! So we went there and talked a bit. Then we went to the park and relaxed in the grass because apparently he likes to do that? I had nearly fallen asleep a few times but yeah, it went really well."

The reaction to her extremely simplified story was a few nods and smirks, though Jasmine hadn't seemed satisfied, "Details Kate! Details! All we know is that for the first time ever you didn't nearly kill a guy here! And that you hung out with him!"

Everyone had a laugh at the small banter Jasmine threw. Kate couldn't help but laugh at her friends teasing her for her actions towards the opposing gender. Not to say it didn't bother her, just that she didn't let the words get too her head. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything!" Jasmine nearly screamed to which the other girls were giggling at. Her excitement about the situation was extremely hilarious to the other four women present. "What did he wear? What did he smell like? What's he like? What does he like? Everything girl! I need every last detail!"

With a giggle, Kate began to describe the events of her day. The more she talked the more the girls' eyes sparkled, entranced by her story, and the way she told it. Jasmine and Diana taking a mental note at every mention of Humphrey's name. Trying their best to not smirk they'd give each other a knowing look. Which confused both Gloria and Lily. Kate was too focused on telling them about the day's events to notice. Though they knew that if she saw them, she'd have questions, and that wouldn't end well for the two.

At the mention of her and him going to the park had them all lost. "Wait why a park?" Diana perked up, getting a nod from her fellow lost audience.

To this question, Kate had a smirk that turned into a beaming smile. One smile that made her eyes sparkle, which needed to be noted into both Diana's and Jasmine's brains to further prove their rare and outrageous assumption. "Well, apparently he really likes the park because it's peaceful and he just likes to lay in the grass and enjoy the sun or go for a walk, which is actually kind of weird but it was surprisingly nice!"

Soon though Kate continued with her story, now with her audience invested in the topic, and the male who seemed to be able to push past her hatred and unlock something that really no man got to see from her now. He was the only male who maybe would be able to experience what the real Kate was like. Talk about an accomplishment! Though this begged the question for the girls. Who exactly was Humphrey?

Though all that would be interrupted by someone's phone suddenly ringing...

* * *

Humphrey came home exhausted, the day was fun but his anxiety left him to need a nap. Though as soon as he made it home he was bombarded by his best friends. Question after question came.

"How did it go?"

"What did you do?"

"How was she?"

"Was she cute?"

"Was she nice?"

"Did you do anything?"

"You didn't do anything stupid right?"

"She didn't do anything stupid right?"

He couldn't keep up with the stampede of questions that came his way. His mind was going a million miles a minute. His vision was going blurry and his eyes heavy. "Guys... slow down..." he said as he covered his face leaning toward the door.

As soon as he did they stopped talking. They waited for him to give the clear, though that wouldn't come. It was already too much. And soon he would fall to the ground unconscious. "Humphrey?" Salty said as concern suddenly filled the room.

Salty immediately checked for a pulse. None was found, however. His eyes widened. _Not now. Certainly not to him! Not Humphrey. _

"Shit! We have to get him to the hospital!" Salty shouted grabbing Humphrey. "Mooch where's your car?"

Mooch suddenly grew cold, "It's at the auto-shop, getting repaired..."

A frustrated sigh came from Salty, he knew they didn't have enough money to call a cab unless they wanted to get behind on rent or go a few days without food. Which neither options sounded good, so he reluctantly thought.

Though his thoughts would soon be interrupted by Shakey, "Give me Humphrey's phone. I can call Kate,"

The thought of Kate angered Salty though. Why call _her?_ Why ask for _her _help? She didn't like them and he sure as hell didn't like her. Not to mention this was her fault! If he never went out he wouldn't be unconscious right now! "Out of the question! We will not call her!"

Suddenly Mooch piped up, "Why not? She has a car! She knows where we are! She can help!"

"No! She's a good for nothing sexist prick! All she'll do is hate on us for needing her help! And then talk all this nonsense about how men are useless creatures and that it's too bad for Humphrey!"

"They just went on a date dude! Why would she just leave him to die after doing that!"

"It wasn't even a date! It was an apology hangout!"

"How does that even make a difference!"

The argument between the two was heating up. It seemed like they were so caught up with each other that they weren't even thinking about their fallen friend's health anymore. Shakey was just being quiet in a slight panic about the situation. He had no idea what to do.

Then it hit him. Just in Humphrey's pocket would be his phone. He could call Kate! Shakey would be lying if he said that he was a fan of Kate but she seemed like the only option he had if he wanted to help his friend. A friend that was in critical danger. So while the other two were distracted he quickly searched through his pockets until he felt the phone he drastically was hoping to feel. He upon grabbing it ran off into the bathroom shutting the door so the screams of his friends would be muffled.

He fiddled with the phone for a bit as he searched for Humphrey's contacts app. When he managed to find it he immediately scrolled trying to find Kate's contact. He didn't know why but he struggled to find it. And when he did he struggled to tap the call icon.

Why was he hesitant to call her? Why? Was it because he was scared she'd reject the help like Salty said she would?

No. It was more personal than that. It was because he didn't want her to help them. He was on the same boat as Salty. He didn't like her. Well honestly the three of them didn't like her. Mooch just believed that she could change. He thought that if Humphrey saw something not to hate then he could try to look for that same thing. Though Salty and Shakey believed that she was just a bad wolf, and would continue to be a bad wolf.

But they needed her. Though this school may have been as prestigious as they come, it didn't have a single ambulance. A hospital, but no ambulance. The reason for that was because of a recent need for emergency vehicles up north. Jasper U said they'd help however they could, though apparently the cities needed every emergency vehicle that they had. Though the school started getting other emergency vehicles like fire trucks and police cars, the ambulances hadn't been finished and delivered yet. So they had to make do without them.

_Just press the call icon! _Was all he could think. He just couldn't though. How was he supposed to dial a sexist wolf to help the opposing gender? How was he to consider even thinking that this was a good idea! How did he just instinctively think it was a choice to now feel like it was the complete opposite?

But Humphrey...

He needed the help. They needed the help. No personal feelings, drama, or past interactions were so worth being stubborn about over someone's life. Especially of one like Humphrey. The damn guy was too damn good to deserve half the pain he's been through.

"Ah fuck it!" he shouted pressing the icon. He held the phone up to his ear waiting, hoping for an answer from the other end. Soon enough it came.

"Hello?"

As soon as he heard her voice everything just came out. "Kate! Oh my God thank you for picking up... Humphrey passed out and he's not waking up! I think somethings up. Please come quick, we need to get him to a hospital!" You could hear the fear in his voice. You could tell that he was in a state of panic from how fast he spoke.

On the other end, he could hear the fumbling of multiple sets of feet as well as a few other things. Then he heard keys jingle. "Okay, I'm on my way, watch him until I'm there. I'll rush him to the E.R." With that, she hung up.

That gave him some hope. At least they had a chance if she was quick anyway. Though the biggest concern was that Humphrey wasn't breathing. Soon Shakey left the bathroom to see Salty providing CPR on Humphrey. "I just called Kate she's coming to get him," Shakey said worriedly. Of course, he was worried. One of his only friends was knocking on death's door and there was nothing he could do about it! And there only chance was a girl who not even forty-eight hours ago hated him!

"Okay..." came the slow reply from Salty.

Mooch looked at him and nodded, "You did the right thing, Sean, thanks. He'll be fine... hopefully."

That's how serious this became. They couldn't even call each other by their given nicknames. Their friend was what looked to be in a fatal condition. By now he had gone two minutes without breathing. Two minutes of what could possibly be of him dead.

But he wasn't allowed to die. All of his friends knew that. He was just too much of a good person to die. There was no way his life could end like this. The kid hadn't experienced so many things life had to offer! Never had he gone to a huge party. Never had he been too a concert or a sporting event. Never had he experienced what affection was like. Never had a girlfriend. Never had he knew to love.

Sometimes it was strange to think that someone who had never experienced such things was such a kind-hearted and altruistic individual. Though sometimes it proved more a hindrance than a blessing. For instance, he had thought that if the only way to make someone happy was to let them walk all over him then he'd do it no questions asked, wanting nothing in return. Too him it was right but anyone else would notice just how unhealthy it was.

He needed to learn and experience so many things.

He wasn't allowed to die.

As they carried him down they all thought the same thing.

_Humphrey must live! _

**Well, that's the chapter. Originally I was gonna add a journey to the hospital scene** **in here but decided against it since this seemed like a good way to end the chapter so here we are! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I'll see all you beautiful people in the next chapter! **


	7. Chapter 7

Silence, no sound was heard in the waiting room. No one dared to speak. They were the only ones there. Kate's friends and little sister had joined them soon after they arrived. No one said anything when they arrived though. By the time they had arrived the others already had looked lifeless.

It was terrifying.

The color in their eyes had dimmed. Other than the red that could be seen along with their wet shirts. A result of how much they had been crying. They looked hopeless.

And who could blame them?

A normal person can only go a few minutes without breathing. Well, Humphrey had been unconscious without breathing for about twenty minutes now. The odds of his survival decreasing with every passing second. So logically they already knew he was a goner. Though they just couldn't let go of their tiny sliver of hope. Hope that he would wake up. Hope that he would be okay.

Though realistically he probably wasn't.

How did it even happen though?

Just earlier that day he was perfectly healthy. He was smiling and laughing. Just earlier he was out an about. Maybe a little nervous but all around he was fine. So how was it that he suddenly just... fell? How did he suddenly just stop breathing?

No one knew. And that was probably the biggest factor in their fear. After all one of the biggest fears around was the fear of the unknown.

"What exactly happened?" came the question from Kate. Her friends were just as curious. It didn't seem real. Even after seeing Humphrey and his state about half an hour ago.

"Well Humphrey walked in the door and we immediately started to question him. I guess he either was overwhelmed or something and he just passed out in front of us. We immediately started to panic, though Micheal and I didn't really handle the situation good at all. We started to argue about what to do instead of helping our friend, So Sean took it upon himself to call you and now here we are," As everyone looked at Samuel they could see just how guilty he felt about the whole thing. It was clear that he felt at fault, or that he would feel at fault if... actually probably best to not even think about that.

"What were you guys arguing about?" Lily said though it sounded more like a mumble. The only reason why she was heard was because of how silent it was in the room.

Samuel just looked down, he didn't want to reveal any more. Not at a time like this. He knew that if the topic of the argument was revealed then an unneeded argument would occur, and he didn't want that. At least not while Humphrey was in the state he was in.

But it seemed that his fatter buddy had a very different mindset. "We were arguing about whether or not to call Kate. We all know that ambulances aren't around campus at the moment. So we knew we'd only have a chance if we called someone since my car is broken. Sam didn't want to call you, while I thought that it was our only chance. Then while we were in a heated argument Sean grabbed his phone and rung you,"

Silence plagued the room after that. Everyone waiting to see how the short-tempered blonde wolf would respond. She hadn't even reacted to what was just said, well that's how it looked. Her expression was bland. Her voice had never been heard. They couldn't tell if they should take it as a good or bad sign. Was she just trying not to start a scene or was she preparing to explode on the two males in front of her?

The sudden sound of her sigh had scared everyone present. Though they would soon calm down seeing that she wasn't lashing at the duo. "Okay, good to know. Again thanks Sean for contacting me,"

Dismissed. She just dismissed the situation. She didn't say anything about how dumb they were or anything at all. She just took in the information and moved on? Kate Wilson? The girl known for lashing out, wasn't lashing out?

"Wait, wait, wait. Wheres the insults? Wheres the belittling? Wheres the lashing out? You have nothing to say? We just admitted to talking about you behind your back. So where is the normal princess witch of the school who hates men? Wheres the girl who not even forty-eight hours ago wouldn't have cared if our friend was dead? Wheres the girl who was ready to fight us at Dunkin?" tears were in his eyes. The one time he wouldn't mind being chewed out by the one girl he hated, it wasn't happening. Samuel didn't understand it at all.

Kate was noticeably hurt by the sudden outburst and everyone had prepared for the worst. Would she finally scream at him? Berate him? Or fight him? The answer was none of them. She instead composed herself and calmly replied, "This isn't the time or the place for that. Right now the only thing on my mind is Humphrey and my hope that he will be okay."

Samuel was speechless. She was thinking of him? Hoping he would be okay? The same girl who had made him cry at Dunkin and the same girl who had been known for her hatred of the opposite sex was worried about Humphrey? The quietest kid in school had the princess worried? Just what was transpiring in front of their eyes. She seemed to genuinely care for him. "But why? Why are you so worried about our friend?"

Why... That was a good question. Why did she care so much? She couldn't say without a doubt she liked the guy. She definitely couldn't be falling for him. So why was it that she just couldn't stand the fact that he could possibly leave them. Why did she care?

"I... I don't know why...,"

**Okay, this chapter is really short compared to the others but let me explain. I had to get an update out for you all. But I've put this off for so long and even though I know where I want to go with the story I feel like I'm out of ideas. And I don't want to rush into things. But I also thought that this short chapter would be good and enough for y'all to have a nice read so I hope I didn't disappoint. Anyway, I'll see all you beautiful people in the next chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

"You don't know? That's your answer? You immediately see him and hate him. You make him cry. Then suddenly you wanna be sorry? I don't buy any of that!" He had lost it, his voice slowly started to raise. "So why do you care!"

The girls looked ready to blow up on him (except Lily) for speaking that way to Kate. Even with those facts, and with them just as confused they knew there had to be a good reason. Besides they always had her back. But they were immediately stopped by Kate putting up her arm as if holding them back. "Samuel if I knew what was happening I'd give you an answer. But I don't. Humphrey is just so different from any other _man_ I've met. And I don't know why I suddenly _care_ so much all _I know_ is that _I do!_ And that he doesn't deserve what he's going through right now. And I know that we all know for a FACT... A FACT that if he was seeing what we're doing right now he'd be devastated! So Samuel if you really have something to settle with me can it wait until after he's okay!?" She nearly shouted but she surprisingly kept her cool. Though she made her anger abundantly clear to him. She made sure to stress a few words to get it through the idiot's thick skull that she was just as confused as she was.

He looked at her angrily. Though after a few minutes of him glaring he reluctantly nodded. As much as he hated to admit it she was right. Humphrey hated it when people fought. He was a natural mediator. Naturally looking to keep the peace. In fact, he was a pacifist for most of his life. He stopped being one when his father first taught him self defense when he had turned thirteen. And he technically didn't fight once, until Junior year when Samuel and Michael got into a predicament with Randall Freeman. And that only happened because Randall had hurt Samuel and Michael to a point that they were nearly hospitalized. It was the only time Humphrey lost his cool in front of them. And honestly, that side of him was intimidating. He was such a gentle soul, but he could fight like there was no tomorrow.

After a few more seconds he sighed, then he looked at her, "You're right... I'm sorry." He said just barely loud enough for her to hear. He hated the fact that he apologized but he knew it was the right thing to do, mostly for Humphrey. His friend that somehow saw the good in everyone had seen good in this girl. He didn't understand how though. And honestly, if it wasn't a necessity he didn't want to know either.

Kate said nothing back. She honestly didn't care if he was sorry or not. The only thing that she cared about at the moment was what was happening beyond the doors that led to Humphrey's operation room. She was so worried and she had no idea why.

Not that it wasn't unwelcome. Strangely enough.

* * *

They had all sat in silence for a while after Samuel lost his cool. The time now was 7:37. The other ladies had just left wishing that Humphrey would be okay. That left only Kate, Samuel, Michael, and Sean. Soon they heard the doors open. The nurse from earlier that rushed Humphrey to the ER had looked around the room. Once met them she gestured them to follow her.

As soon as they were in the hallway Sean spoke up. "Please tell me that my friend is okay," He said, hurt and worry were eminent in his voice. He wanted nothing more than to hear the reassurance of a professional.

The nurse looked back to them with a smile, "Why should I tell you when you can hear it from him yourself?" Once they heard that relief hit them all like a semi-truck. Humphrey was okay! He somehow pulled off a miracle!

"Thank god!" Michael said a tear in his eye. Similar reactions were made by the other two guys. Kate instead let a smile come to her face. Thankfully she was behind them so they couldn't see her.

Soon they made it to their designated room. Looking ahead they saw Humphrey looking out the window. Tubes in his arm providing water and they saw a recently removed oxygen concentrator. Soon he looked toward them with a smile, "Hey guys! Why do you look so depressed? Something happen?" He had a smirk plastered on his face and his voice seemed different to Kate. It was still his gentle kind like voice but it had some extra... flair to it?

The three couldn't hold themselves back as they ran to Humphrey giving him a big group hug. Samuel basically on the bed. Kate looked at them with a smirk, they looked like they were brothers with how they acted. "Jesus guys easy there, You'll kill me with all that!" Humphrey joked as he returned the hug. He then looked at Kate. "Hey Kate, you alright?"

Did he seriously just ask her if she was alright? He literally almost died and acts as nothing happened? And he looks at her worried about her as if she nearly lost her life? He definitely wasn't like any other man she met. She gave him a smile, "You're in the hospital bed and you're asking me if I'm alright? Did you get enough oxygen?"

Humphrey laughed at the joke. He seemed much more... loose at the moment. Maybe it was the meds he had to be on. "I hope so!"

"Humphrey, what happened?" Sean asked he was curious. But mostly he still had some worry, what could have been so bad that it did that to Humphrey? What suddenly made him stop breathing?

Humphrey remained silent, his face changing from the wide smile to a saddened frown. Before they could question further though the doctor came into the room. "Humphrey seemed to have suffered an anxiety attack. It's honestly a miracle he's alive right now considering how long he wasn't breathing. But the attack seemed to be caused by severe stress. Humphrey is everything alright?" He said upon entering.

Humphrey looked on and his smile returned. "I think so. Maybe I was just balancing too many things at once?"

_That's the excuse? _Kate thought as she kept a blank expression. She didn't like the fact that it looked like he was hiding something. Humphrey wasn't that hard to read surprisingly. For such a quiet and reclusive kid who she knew basically nothing about she could easily read him sometimes. This was one of those times. He knew what the problem was, but he just wasn't telling them. Could it have been the hangout? He seemed fine during it though. Maybe it was something else?

The doctor nodded looking at his clipboard. "Okay, well then try not to overdo anything for the next couple of weeks and I suggest heavy bed-rest for the next three days. You need time to sort yourself in peace. Okay?"

Humphrey looked at the doctor and nodded. He knew that he needed time to think. With a sigh, he looked to the window. _Peace huh? I wonder if that's possible for me. _He had never known peace his whole life. For such a peaceful driven person he actually didn't know what peace felt like. Even when drama wasn't around him his mind was always working and making him anxious, he was an overthinker, he calculated every action he took. And every choice he made always was in the back of his head... haunting him. Maybe that was the reason he fought so hard to make sure others were alright because he himself couldn't say he knew about it he wanted to make sure others could experience it.

"Okay great, I'll prescribe you with anxiety medication. Now if you start feeling chest pains or dizziness then come here immediately. With that said you'll be able to leave in fifteen minutes, just need a few minutes for me to get the medication." The doctor said waving them goodbye. The nurse left soon after leaving the lifelong friends and Kate in there alone.

Honestly, it made her uncomfortable. At any point, they could... do things to her. _Actually they'd be dumb to try any of that. _She knew she had no reason to be like this, but she couldn't help it. It was just how she was around... _them. _"Hey, Kate are you okay? You seem... on edge?"

There he was again. Did he not know how to think about himself? But it wasn't like he had been wrong. Because he wasn't. Until she heard his voice. She didn't know how to explain it, but somehow his voice made her know she was gonna be alright. For some reason it made her think of Dunkin. When he yelled at Sam to shut his mouth, but somehow even though he had yelled, his voice still had a gentle tone to it.

It still confused her. His voice carried such a peaceful tone even though he yelled. And he yelled at Samuel even though he was protecting him. It was a calculated move though. And she knew he did it on purpose. He knew if he yelled at her and protected Samuel then the situation would have gotten worse. So he took out the whole situation by yelling at his friend.

_Just how smart is he anyway?_

All she could do was look at him blankly, internally still confused. Before finally, she sighed, "Yeah I'm fine. What about you though. It's not like you to be so talkative," She mostly meant that as a quip back hoping to draw attention away from her personal state of being.

Apparently it worked as she saw him slowly chuckle. His friends looking at him confused. Maybe it hadn't crossed their minds that he was talking like the average person. _Could that mean that he used to talk more?_ "I think it's the medicine honestly. Oh, I just thought about it actually. Kate, how do you want me to work on our project? I'm not gonna be able to leave my dorm for a few days,"

The question caught Kate off guard, she hadn't even thought about the project this whole time. With Humphrey bedridden, they'd definitely fall behind the rest of there class. She could easily just have him email his work to her. If that was the case she ran no risk of anything happening to her. But if she decided to go over to his dorm depending on who his roommate is could really make or break her whole experience. And she ran the risk of one of them doing something or pushing her buttons the wrong way. But maybe she could just call him and they could talk as they worked. It would help them get to know each other better while they were doing their assignment.

Honestly, she didn't know what to do. Clearly the best option was the phone call as the compromise. But if she was honest she didn't want to be on the phone. Maybe she could convince him to go to the class anyway? Actually that option was immediately out the window. She could easily convince him but, she didn't want to risk his health. Maybe she should just do the email?

"Do you want me to just send an email? Or maybe you can send the doc to me and I can work on it at the same time as you," His voice came up again. He had a good point and a great idea. Sharing the doc would be really helpful for them. That way they could both type up everything. It was slightly better than the email for a couple of reasons and it was better than her going through the process of talking to the teacher about the whole thing and going to the dorm. She gave him a smile and nodded, "Okay then do you need my email? I'll text you it."

She could get used to hearing his voice if she was honest. It wasn't completely repulsive, at least for a _man's_ voice.

**Okay, honestly I don't think there is much more that I should write for this chapter. I'm happy with where it's at. So sorry for the two short chapters in a row but even so I really hope you all enjoyed the read and I'll see all of you amazing people in the next chapter!**


	9. Chapter 9

A week passed since Humphrey was treated in the hospital and he still wasn't given the clear on going back to classes. In fact, he was under strict conditions to actually stay in his dorm and relax. Apparently the doctor had miscalculated the time he would need to stay bedridden. Instead of the three days that he was originally prescribed the doctor said Humphrey should play it safe and stay in his dorm room for the whole two-week recovery, and after that, he would have to watch how much energy he used each day so he didn't overly fatigue himself. All this and that someone else would have to _supervise _him throughout the day to make sure he didn't use too much energy or overly stress himself during his two-week recovery.

It was embarrassing, to say the least.

Never had Humphrey felt like such a nuisance before. Each day one of his friends would take turns in watching over him while he had to recover. They were taking time out of their studies for his sake.

The thought made him sick.

Not because of his friends. No because of the fact that he felt he was holding them back. Actually, he was holding them back. Right now they had more important matters than looking after him but here they were, helping him!

Which now led to today. A day that none of his friends were actually able to watch him. Each of them had an important test to do today and after they had some sort of trip outside the college grounds for a while as some sort of volunteer work that they all had signed up for the month prior. In fact, Humphrey had also signed up to do that. Though now he couldn't due to... obvious reasons.

His friends looked guilty leaving him at the dorm to himself, which he quickly dismissed and told them not to worry about it. After all, they had lives to live. Why waste it on something so trivial? His reasoning didn't sit well with them of course.

But there was nothing they could do.

So the only choice was to let Humphrey stay home alone and trust the young man to not do anything too dangerous in his current state. And that took a lot more convincing than Humphrey originally thought it would take.

Seriously, it got to the point where Humphrey made an oath not to overexert himself when doing anything.

He thought they were being dramatic. Honestly, he thought everyone was being overly dramatic. He felt fine. Nothing out of the ordinary had been happening since he received the injury, to begin with.

He honestly felt like he could go for a long run, but he had to promise not to do that too. In fact, he was strictly told by his friends as well to not leave the dorm. Saying that if he did they would personally kill him. Of course, them saying that was nothing more than an empty threat. Hell, they made empty threats to one another all the time. But still, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were being a little dramatic over the whole situation.

Thinking about this sudden change in his life made him think about another change. He was talking a little more. Most of which was due to the medication that he had been given to well... help him with his recovery, they mostly served to make him drowsy but still, he was to take one every four hours. The medication actually made him much more relaxed. His brain wasn't in constant overdrive and he was just able to speak to his friends. It had been a long time since he was actually able to do that, it felt quite nice. He missed being able to crack the constant jokes like he used to.

Why was he so scared to talk? He had no reason to be.

Humphrey was always a relatively quiet kid, always struggling with a strong case of social anxiety and shyness. But in front of his best friends, he used to be able to let loose. He used to speak his mind and be loud when he was able too. It was as if he was a completely different person around them. It was a completely different Humphrey from what anyone else knew.

Only those three saw that side of him. The side that was the real him, the one that he had always kept hidden.

Why was he so scared to show that Humphrey to the rest of the word?

DING*

He was snapped out of his thoughts when suddenly he got a text from his computer. After around day three of him working in his dorm he and Kate decided to open a messenger while they worked. Sure they could have used their phones but Kate didn't want to use her phone in class. Something about it looking "unprofessional" as she put it. He honestly didn't understand it.

K: You haven't typed a single word in the last 15 minutes. You alright?

The message put a smile on his face. He felt a little pride making a girl worry for him. A first for the young man. On the other hand, as previously mentioned, he hated being a nuisance. And making someone worry for him counted as a nuisance.

H: For the most part been spacing out. Guess I'm a little worried about being in the dorm by myself with this whole treatment thing.

He immediately regretted sending that text. He didn't mean to lie to her, but he really didn't want to talk about his problems with her. Actually he hated sharing his problems with anyone. He had always had the mindset that _he _had to fix _his _problems. It was who he was.

His problems were his. And so were everyone else's problems.

He was always the designated problem solver in his group of friends. Whenever any of them were going through something harsh they turned straight to Humphrey. He was even the designated wingman for the three of them when they turned twenty-one, he somehow got each of them a date every time. That accomplishment always made him chuckle, after all, he was still the only one of them to never have had his first kiss. Or a girlfriend for that matter.

These thoughts brought him back to highschool. Freshmen year was great for him. He had joined the football and volleyball team. And won the talent show as a comedian. The first time ever in his school's history. And even though he was quiet most of the time he found a way to make a few friends who he was starting to open up more too. Then everything changed midway through his sophomore season. He was just coming off his best season in both football and volleyball and was ready to break the records next season. He was finally getting out of his shell and everyone was being great to him and his friends. Then it all changed after that faithful day. He isolated himself from everyone except his three best friends. Even then he didn't really talk to them. Then a year later he quit both sports teams. His team had their first losing season in over a decade. And they blamed Humphrey. Then he was outcasted by almost everyone. He remembered the school newspaper that came out after their final game. "From Phenomenom to Traitor." A full article meant to ridicule and blame Humphrey for his team's losing season. When he wasn't even on it. Suddenly he and his friends were hated and bullied.

And it was all his fault.

DING*

For the second time, he was taken out of his thoughts by a message from Kate. Though this time he could feel the tears that wanted to escape his eyes. He was such a crybaby now.

K: Wait you're alone in your dorm?

Humphrey didn't think about his response. He just did it.

H: Yep. Sean, Micheal, and Samuel are to busy today and decided to trust me enough to let me be alone in the dorm today. I honestly don't know what they're worried about though.

It took a while for him to get a response. Though it was surprising to see that she hadn't been working while that time had passed.

K: Right...

Right? Three dots? Was she okay? Was he reading to much into the message? Wait why was he reading the message? Well, that was obvious, but why was he reading into it? Did what he say even make sense? Was he able to not overthink for a single second?

He took a deep breath. He needed to slow down. He was stressing himself out with the sudden anxiety he was getting over something this small. It was just a text. That was reality. Sure the dots were new but what could they mean really? To his knowledge that answer was nothing. So he needed to calm down. The doctor said that he couldn't stress too much. So he needed to slow down.

Maybe he should make a coffee, take his mind off things.

Yeah, coffee sounded good.

With that thought fresh in his mind Humphrey stood up. He didn't feel strange doing it, only that his legs seemed a bit asleep, he hadn't walked around his dorm much since he was discharged. He still thought that everyone was over exaggerating the situation. He was fine. It was just one small attack. He doubted it would happen again.

With that thought in his mind, he left his bland room. He had nothing on his furniture except the essentials. No family photos. No posters. Nothing really that made the room his own. Anything that really identified Humphrey as himself was in his closet. Hidden from the rest of the world. The stuff in there was stuff only he knew about really. No one else actually checked in his closet. Sure his three friends had an idea of what could possibly be in there but realistically their guess was just as good as anyone else's. He had wanted to forget home as much as possible. He wanted to forget Gladwin, Michigan. He just wanted to forget his past as much as possible.

_Ugh! Why can't I stop thinking about it!_

He sighed. He needed to relax. Every time he thought back to his past he always began to stiffen up and stress. He just needed to forget it and move on. Why couldn't he just have permanent amnesia?

Another sigh escaped. Right now he should just focus on coffee.

Walking into the kitchen he went to the coffee maker. It was a cheap one. He had gotten it on Black Friday a couple of years back after the original one broke. And he didn't even want to think of the reason. He poured a bit of water in and turned on the machine. Next, he needed to grab his instant coffee from the cabinet. Easily done. Grabbing his favorite mug. It was a birthday gift from Sean. Just a big Patriots mug. _Go Pats! _Last, he needed sugar. Not that tough. The sugar was right next to the machine.

He scooped three spoons of sugar and one of the instant coffee beans.

Now he waited. It would take a bit for the water to heat up, it was a cheap machine after all, but Humphrey was in no rush. He had nothing to worry about.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

Raincheck on that nothing to be worried about. Why was someone at his door? He knew for a fact that they paid the monthly rental fee for the dorm. And if it was the guys then they would just open the door. So who was at his door? Could they have the wrong door? Should he answer it? No probably not. Maybe the wolf on the other side left?

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

Nope! They're still there! Okay, maybe he should open the door... Maybe it was the mail? Yeah, that must have been it. Sam was waiting for that new game to be delivered for a while now. No, wait they'd put in in their mailbox cubby downstairs. So who could it be?

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"Coming!" he said in a gentle but loud voice. Whoever it was clearly had no patience. Like seriously knocking on the door three times in the span of what? Ten seconds?

Wait.

Opening the door he was greeted by a blonde wolf who looked ready to knock on the door again. Of course, it would be her.

"Okay, you got here faster than I thought. Only three knocks," It was none other than Kate in front of him. What was she doing here!

**Okay, I was gonna make this longer, but honestly the more I think about it the more of a good ending it seems to be! So there you go, because I'm evil you get another cliffhanger, kinda.**

**Anyway, I hope to see all you amazing people in the next chapter.**


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